Turning Points: 3 wickets in 6 balls… Keshav Maharaj’s one over became the turning point, turned the match.

New Delhi. The storm of South African bowlers blew away the golden dreams of Indian cricket like straw. Where it was expected that the Indian warrior would play Ranbheri with his bat, a story of defeat was written which shattered the hearts of crores of fans. After the helplessness of the bowlers, the batsmen also put their credibility at stake and the drought of runs made the road to the semi-finals a bed of thorns. Team India’s confidence seemed to be melting in the historic stadium of Ahmedabad, due to which the desire of becoming world champion for the second consecutive time is now stuck in the whirlpool of ‘ifs and buts’. On one hand, Indian batsmen were losing their wickets one after the other, while on the other hand, Shivam Dubey stood firm at one end. But the turning point of the match proved to be an over by spinner Keshav Maharaj, in which he dismissed Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh along with Arshdeep, dashing India’s hopes of victory.

No Indian fan would like to remember that scene of the T20 World Cup Super 8 match, where South Africa’s ‘spin magician’ Keshav Maharaj shook the foundation of Indian batting with his magical spin. The 15th over of the Indian innings was no less than a terrible tragedy, which instantly turned the match towards South Africa. Hardik Pandya tried to hit the air on the very first ball of Maharaj’s over, but Tristan Stubbs standing at the boundary caught the ball cleverly and maintained his balance despite the hindrance of the spider cam. There was silence as soon as Pandya (18) left. Rinku Singh came to the crease on the very next ball, but on the third ball he too was caught by Stubbs. Maharaj’s slow and short ball preyed on Rinku.

Stubbs showed leopard-like agility on the boundary
The Indian team had not yet recovered from this shock when Arshdeep Singh also kneeled down on the last ball of the over. Stubbs once again showed leopard-like agility on the boundary and threw the ball in the air, went beyond the boundary rope and then came inside and completed the catch. By taking three wickets in a single over, Keshav Maharaj not only pushed India to the score of 88-8, but also wrote the script of a shameful defeat of 76 runs.

Miller scored a stormy half century
After a stormy half-century by David Miller, due to the excellent performance of the bowlers led by Marco Jansen, South Africa defeated India by 76 runs in a one-sided match and put an end to its unbeaten streak in the ongoing World Cup. India had won the title in the last T20 World Cup held in West Indies and America in 2024 without losing a single match, whereas this is its first defeat in the current tournament. This is also India’s second biggest defeat in terms of runs.

Indian innings collapsed at 111 runs in 18.5 overs.
Chasing South Africa’s target of 188 runs, India collapsed to 111 runs in 18.5 overs in front of the sharp bowling of fast bowlers Marco Jansen (22/4), Keshav Maharaj (24/3) and Corbin Bosch (2 wickets for 12 runs). From the host team, only Shivam Dubey (42 runs, 37 balls, three sixes, one four) could cross the 20-run mark. Apart from playing an inning of 63 runs in 35 balls with three sixes and seven fours, he made a partnership of 97 runs in 51 balls for the fourth wicket with Dewald Brevis (45 runs, 29 balls, three sixes, three fours), due to which South Africa scored a big score of 187 runs for seven wickets despite losing three wickets for 20 runs. Tristan Stubbs also played an unbeaten inning of 44 runs in 24 balls with three sixes and one four.